Topics

Sectors

Winnipeg, Man. – One of Canada’s leading agribusinesses has acquired a UK-based oat milling company.

In a statement, Richardson International Limited says acquiring European Oat Millers will expand Richardson International’s own oat milling business. The terms of the acquisition, which closed on June 15, were not disclosed.

Curt Vossen, president and CEO of Richardson International, says in the statement that the acquisition opens up a new market for the company.

“As the largest oat miller in North America, we now look forward to building a presence in Europe to enhance our ability to compete in the global marketplace,” says Vossen.

European Oat Millers is based in Bedford, UK and is a leader in its market. The statement says the company “is the second-largest oat miller in Europe, producing a wide range of oat products, including various oat flakes, flour and groats, as well as wheat and barley flakes and extruded ingredients and products.”

European Oat Millers sells its product throughout the UK and also exports them into the rest of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Vossen says Richardson International plans to “build on the investments that [European Oat Millers has] already made, including increasing manufacturing capacity, and will continue to seek opportunities” to expand globally.

Bill Jordan, who co-founded European Oat Millers with his brother David, says in the statement that they are “pleased to be passing [the company] on to a similar family-owned business that shares both our vision for growth and our core values.”

Richardson International entered the oat milling business in 2013 when it acquired three oat processing plants in Canada and one in the US. The plants in Canada are located in Portage la Prairie, Man., Martensville, Sask., and Barrhead, Alta. The one in the US is found in South Sioux City, Neb.

In the statement, Richardson International says it is “a global leader in agriculture and food processing” and its “a worldwide handler and merchandiser of major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and a vertically integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products.”